Although he kept saying he still had a long way to go, in actual practice, he had defeated every teacher and student at the boxing gym.
That included two professional boxers.
Just as he was feeling pleased with himself, Ye Fan's appearance directly tore apart the "invincible" belief he had worked so hard to build.
The two of them did not spar.
When Ye Fan came to visit, Li Zhi merely led him into his private gym.
At first glance, Ye Fan did not look as muscular as Li Zhi, yet he could easily deadlift a four-hundred-kilogram barbell.
Li Zhi, meanwhile, had to use every ounce of strength he possessed just to lift a three-hundred-kilogram barbell.
That was only in the deadlift.
The gap between them in absolute strength was already glaringly obvious.
It directly brought the somewhat self-satisfied Li Zhi back down to earth and made him realize the enormous difference between them.
As expected of the Human Holy Body, he thought.
He had only practiced a Breathing Method that was not particularly effective, yet it had already begun revealing his terrifying strength.
And this was the difference displayed before Ye Fan's Holy Body bloodline had even been awakened.
Once the Holy Body bloodline in Ye Fan's body was activated, Li Zhi could not even imagine how wide the gap between them would become.
From this, Li Zhi also deduced that he probably did not possess a special physique.
In the private gym, Li Zhi watched Ye Fan use the three-hundred-kilogram barbell he had barely managed to lift and perform five consecutive squats. He immediately felt a little depressed.
"Brother Ye, you really are a monster. With that freakish strength of yours, if you entered a weightlifting competition, wouldn't winning the championship be a piece of cake?" Li Zhi exclaimed.
Ye Fan put the barbell back on the rack without using much force, then rolled his shoulders slightly and said, "It's all thanks to the Breathing Method I got from you, Brother Li. I've practiced it for more than a year. Not only has my energy and spirit improved greatly, but even my strength has been growing stronger and stronger."
After realizing that his strength had surpassed the world record, Ye Fan had once worried that something was wrong with his body, so he went to the hospital for a thorough examination.
When the results came back, there was nothing wrong with his body. Every indicator was completely normal.
Ye Fan was still not reassured, so he went to see a traditional Chinese physician and had him perform a full examination.
The physician told him that his body was in excellent condition and that he displayed abundant vital energy and essence. He could almost remain free of every illness. The sudden surge in strength was merely an additional effect of his body being filled with vital energy.
Afterward, when Ye Fan saw that Li Zhi's gym also contained martial arts equipment, he asked curiously, "Brother Li, do you practice boxing too?"
Li Zhi said, "I practiced that Breathing Method as well, and my energy has grown more and more abundant. I only need four or five hours of sleep each day, and I'm not tired at all. So I learned a few boxing and kicking techniques to pass the time."
Ye Fan's eyes lit up. "Then I'll learn some boxing and kicking techniques too when I get the chance."
Having strength without any exquisite techniques to go with it would not result in much combat power. Ye Fan understood this principle as well.
The two of them left the gym and went straight to the pavilion in the courtyard. Looking at the surrounding scenery, Ye Fan said, "Brother Li, the environment here is quite nice. It's suitable for a family to live in."
Li Zhi smiled. "If you like it here, buy a courtyard here once you've made some money. Then the two of us can be neighbors."
Ye Fan said modestly, "The houses here are so expensive. How could I afford one?" In truth, he had already made up his mind. Once he earned enough money, he would buy a courtyard here and bring his parents over to live with him.
Li Zhi only smiled without replying. You'll be able to afford one very soon.
Just then, Zhou Mei came over carrying two trays of tea and pastries.
Ye Fan accepted the refreshments and said, "Thank you, Sister-in-law."
Li Zhi said, "Mei'er, Ye and I are going out tomorrow. We'll probably be gone for ten days to half a month. If anything happens at home, call me."
Zhou Mei smiled. "Go ahead. I'll take care of things here."
Li Zhi said, "Don't overwork yourself while you're at home. Get plenty of rest. If anything happens, call Auntie Wang."
Zhou Mei wore a blissful expression. "I know. I'm not a child."
Caught off guard, Ye Fan was subjected to a public display of affection by the married couple. The pastries in his mouth instantly stopped tasting sweet.
At the same time, he remembered Li Xiaoman, who had already gone abroad.
In the end, the two of them had still failed to stay together. Like most college couples, they had broken up as soon as they graduated.
Then Zhou Mei asked Ye Fan, "Brother Ye, why don't you bring your girlfriend over for a visit one day?"
Ye Fan came back to himself and smiled. "Sister Zhou, don't tease me. I don't have a girlfriend right now."
Zhou Mei said, "You're handsome, talented, and accomplished for your age. You won't have any trouble finding a good girl. Would you like me to introduce you to a few girls and let you spend some time with them?"
Ye Fan hurriedly shook his head. "No need, Sister Zhou. I've only just graduated, and this is the time to work hard and build my future. I don't want romantic matters distracting me for now."
Zhou Mei said, "You're right. A young man should devote himself wholeheartedly to his career. Once you've achieved success, good girls will appear around you in droves."
Ye Fan smiled. "Then I'll take your blessing, Sister Zhou."
After agreeing with Li Zhi on the exact time they would set out the next day, Ye Fan left.
He truly could not stand watching Li Zhi and Zhou Mei fawn over each other. They were even more sickeningly affectionate than young couples.
Watching Ye Fan leave, Zhou Mei said to Li Zhi, "Darling, your little brother isn't simple."
"Of course he isn't simple," Li Zhi said. "Otherwise, why would I become friends with him?"
Zhou Mei said, "Then you have to be careful. Every time I see Ye Fan, I get a faintly uneasy feeling. It seems that after you grow close to him, I'll suddenly lose you one day."
Li Zhi could not help admiring Zhou Mei's intuition.
He really would suddenly disappear from Zhou Mei's life one day in the future.
If he continued cultivating on Earth, then with his aptitude, he would probably never achieve anything before dying of old age.
Only by hitching a ride on the Nine Dragons Coffin Transport to Beidou, obtaining Fortune there, and relying on his talent could he possibly rise to prominence.
From the original story, it was clear that Ye Fan's classmates would all achieve considerable accomplishments in the future.
It could not possibly be because their physiques were exceptional.
Li Zhi would rather believe that their Bitter Seas had been awakened within the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Zone. To a certain extent, this meant that Ruthless Great Emperor had personally opened the Path of Cultivation for them.
No matter how ordinary their original aptitude had been, after receiving Fortune from Ruthless Great Emperor, they could still gain remarkably good cultivation talent.
Perhaps the only living being in the world capable of accomplishing this was Ruthless Great Emperor, who had struggled across from the Mortal Physique step by step before ultimately achieving the Dao.
Only she could possess such heaven-shaking and earth-shattering methods of Fortune.
This was an astonishing opportunity that countless people dreamed of obtaining but could never attain. It was almost no less than using a Divine Medicine to establish one's foundation.
Perhaps this was why Ye Fan's classmates were generally able to become successful cultivators.
Otherwise, with their aptitude, their success rate could never have been so high.
On the Ancient Beidou Star, there were simply too many people with innate aptitude superior to theirs—so many that they could practically not be counted.
The next morning,
Li Zhi drove out early in the morning.
This time, he and Ye Fan were driving to Jin Province.
According to Ye Fan's investigation, the people selling jade artifacts in the Ghost Market were not locals. They were a tomb-robbing group from Jin Province.
Ye Fan had also uncovered an important piece of information. Those people had begun selling ancient jade pieces three years ago, both intact and damaged.
At the same time, he discovered that beginning three years ago, those people had rented several dozen acres of land in a small place called Anyi in Southern Jin and built a massive Vegetable Greenhouse.
They seemed to be farmers growing greenhouse vegetables.
However, after investigating more deeply, Ye Fan discovered that things were not so simple.
Their greenhouse vegetables produced neither high yields nor good quality each year, and they could hardly make any profit.
Yet in just three short years, the entire group had become extremely wealthy.
They had changed their cars and houses, and two of them had even replaced their wives with younger and prettier ones.
After listening to Ye Fan's account, Li Zhi was extremely curious about how he had obtained all this information.
Ye Fan said, "Actually, it wasn't as difficult as you think. As long as you're willing to put in the effort to ask around, there are practically no secrets among ordinary people in this world."
Clearly, Ye Fan was brushing Li Zhi off.
He did not want to tell Li Zhi how he had obtained such precise intelligence.
Li Zhi had no intention of probing further. After all, this was the means by which Ye Fan intended to make his fortune.
After driving for an entire day and night, they finally arrived in front of a remote greenhouse vegetable farm.
Pointing at the greenhouses, Ye Fan said, "Brother Li, it's over there. I suspect that building Vegetable Greenhouses here is merely a ruse to conceal their activities. Their real purpose is to cover up the fact that they're robbing tombs here.
"Based on my observations, they probably discovered a massive Marquis tomb from the Qin-Han period and were excavating it using archaeological methods.
"Otherwise, it would be impossible for them to possess so many ancient artifact fragments. They also wouldn't be able to release relatively well-preserved jade artifacts and Bronze Ritual Vessels from time to time."
Li Zhi surveyed the surrounding terrain and immediately understood the situation. He then asked Ye Fan, "How about we disguise ourselves as buyers and go in to investigate?"
Ye Fan shook his head. "Those people are extremely cautious. They only allow familiar buyers to enter and leave their greenhouses. Before the New Year, when they were hiring workers, I tried to sneak in as a winter-break laborer, but they rejected me. Later, I found out that this vegetable farm only hires people they already know."
Seeing how thoroughly Ye Fan had prepared, Li Zhi asked, "What do you plan to do?"
Ye Fan said, "Usually, only two of them stay there to keep watch at night, and they both have a habit of drinking. I think we can wait until they get drunk tonight, then sneak inside and take a look."
Li Zhi nodded with a smile. "All right. We'll do as you say."
When it came to this sort of thing, he had far more experience than Ye Fan.
Before you continue